Words from Suttree, Chapters 2 Through 6

I’ve been reading Cormac McCarthy’s Suttree. Never in my life have I had to look up so many words when reading something. Here’s a list of the Suttree words I looked up in getting through chapters two through six (about 76 pages of text). The words from chapter one can be found at the bottom of another post. [n.1]

Chapter 2

Moiled – (moil) To work hard; to whirl or churn ceaselessly; twist.

Concatenate – To link together; unite in a chain.

Revetment – A facing of masonry or the like, esp. for protecting an embankment.

Brogans – Heavy, sturdy work shoes.

Nates – Buttocks, rump.

Limn – To represent in drawing/painting; to describe.

Chapter 3

Adenoidal – Pertaining to the adenoids (lymph glands near the pharynx), having enlarged, esp. to a degree that interferes with breathing.

Leptosome – A person of asthenic build; slight; weak; thin.

Bewenned – (be-wenned) Wen = harmless cyst, fatty secretion of a sebaceous gland.

Chapter 4

Anneloid – (annelid) Worms or wormlike animals of the phylum Annelida.

Marcid – Withered, shrunken, wasted away.

Accretion – Natural growth or extension by gradual external addition.

Barbican – An outwork of a fortified place; a defensive outpost.

Lazaret – Same as lazaretto = Hospital for those with contagious diseases, esp. leprosy; a quarantine ship.

Comestibles – Edibles.

Excrescence – (1) An abnormal outgrowth; (2) A normal outgrowth (hair, horns).

Electuary – A pasty mass composed of a medicine, usually in powder form, mixed with a palatable medium (e.g., honey, syrup), esp. for animals.

Decocted – (decoct) To extract the flavor/essence by boiling. [n.2]

Beeves – Plural of beef (!).

Abbatoir – (s/b abattoir?) Slaughterhouse.

Cambrelled – (cambrel) British for gambrel; hock of an animal, esp. a horse; gambrel stick = a device for suspending slaughtered animals.

Blueflocced – ? (Floc = a tuft like mass; floccus = a small tuft of wooly hairs)

Piscean – Person born under the Pisces sign; of/pertaining to the sign (here it probably means fish, or fishlike).

Placoid – Plate like, as scales.

Jowter – A mounted peddler of fish.

Kneecrooks – (made-up compound word) knee + bends.

Dolorous – Full of, expressing, or causing pain or sorrow.

Slaverous – ? (slaver = Dealer/owner of slaves; slobber, drool) (Here it probably means drooling).

Mummes – A person who wears a mask or costume while merrymaking; an actor.

Shriving – (shrive) Impose penance; grant absolution; hear confessions; confess.

Chancel – The space about an alter, usually enclosed and restricted to church officials.

Glaucous – Of a pail grayish or bluish green.

Sedge – Any of numerous grass-like plants of the family cyperaceae, having solid stems, leaves in three vertical rows of spikelets of inconspicuous flowers.

Relict – Organism or species of an earlier time surviving in an environment that has undergone considerable change; widow.

Ebonfaced – Ebony faced.

Wapsy – Waspy (having many wasps?).

Batboard – (batting = fabric, cotton, often used as stuffing) Here it’s likely a compound—board made of batting.

Jakes – Latrines, privies.

Serried – Pressed together, crowded, esp. in rows.

Brisket – Chest of an animal (the cut of meat was clearly not what was intended here).

Scupper – Opening on a ship deck or roof to let water run out.

Caustic – (as a noun) A caustic material or substance; a hydroxide of a light metal.

Adumbrate – To give a sketchy outline of; foreshadow; disclose partially or guardedly.

Chapter 5

Ermine – Of or pertaining to weasels.

Shako – A stiff, cylindrical military dress hat with a metal plate in front, a short visor, and a plume.

Baize – Cotton or woolen material napped to imitate felt and used chiefly as a cover for gaming tables, often bright-green.

Chapter 6

Kudzu – An Asian vine of the legume family used for forage and erosion control; a serious weed in the S.E. United States.

Creepers – A creeping plant/vine.

Datura – Any of a genus of widely distributed strong scented herbs, shrubs, trees, of the nightshade family.

Phlox – Any of a genus of American annual or perennial herbs that have red, purple, white, or variegated flowers.

Suppurating – (suppurate) To form or discharge pus.

Midden – Dunghill; refuse heap.

Talus – A slope formed esp. by the accumulation of rock debris; the debris at the base of a cliff.

Sleech – Thick river mud/sludge/slime.

Vitreous – Relating to/resembling glass; glassy; made from glass.

Chrysalis – A pupa, esp. of a moth or butterfly, enclosed in a firm case or cocoon.

Whelk – Type of marine snail; inflamed swelling (pimple or pustule).

Apostate – One who has abandoned one’s religious faith, political party, cause, etc.

Birdlime – A sticky substance that is smeared on branches or twigs to capture small birds.

Warfarined – (warfarin) A white crystalline compound (C19, H16, O4) used as a rodenticide and as an anticoagulant.

Pneuma – The soul or vital spirit.

Niello – Any of several black metallic alloys used to fill an incised design on the surface of another metal; such a decorated surface; the art or process.

Slattern – An untidy, dirty woman.

Hipshot – Having the hip dislocated; hence having a hip lower than the other.

Winksome - ?

Dogstar – Sirius (but that doesn’t seem to be what he means here).

Ordurous – Of or pertaining to ordure (dung, feces); filthy.

Sussurous – (s/b susurrous?) Whispering; rustling.

Dishabille – Partially or very casually dressed; casual or lounge attire.

Cordite – A smokeless explosive powder.

Tawed – (taw) To convert (skin) into white leather by mineral tanning, as with alum and salt.

Note 1: The definitions are mostly my abbreviated versions I noted when I looked each word up.

Note 2: I can’t hear or see the word “essence” without thinking of the scariest movie of all time—Dark Crystal. Watch this, if you dare. It is extremely disturbing. I can’t believe people let kids watch this: